Join Your Colleagues During Five Days of Action to Increase Your Awareness of Child Sexual Abuse
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. As part of our commitment to protecting the children in our Y family centers, sites, programs and community, we are participating in Five Days of Action - a week-long campaign from April 22-26, to increase associate awareness of child sexual abuse and empower and equip us all to prevent it.
Crucial pieces of child abuse prevention include KNOWING, SEEING, and RESPONDING.
During Five Days of Action, we are introducing the foundational habits of child sexual abuse prevention—Know. See. Respond. When put into practice, they help us create the most child-safe environment possible where children can grow and thrive.
"At the Y, we believe ALL children deserve the opportunity to discover who they are, and what they can achieve."
We are immensely proud and respectful of the trust parents place in our Y and in our associates. But that is not by happenstance. We take a thorough approach to keeping children in our programs safe. Policies exist to ensure associates are not alone with a child. Associates are prohibited from contacting youth outside of the Y (including babysitting and social networking). All associates complete an extensive Child Abuse Prevention training. These efforts and more are in place, not only to educate and inform, but to protect children and associates.
The Y in Central Maryland is a KNOW. SEE. RESPOND. organization
DAY 5: TAKE THE PLEDGE
Although Five Days of Action has drawn to a close, our responsibility as Y associates continues. You've seen the stats, learned the signs, and revisited our reporting policy (days 1-3 below). Now you're ready to pledge to take action and protect children from sexual abuse.
Click the image above to download and fill in your name. Then, join your colleagues on Workplace and share a photo of your pledge card or a group of you holding your pledge cards!
DAY 4: REVIEW WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED
We've unpacked a lot of rich information that has increased your awareness of child abuse. This information will help equip and empower you to own your role as protector and aid in child sexual abuse prevention.
It's important to absorb new information fully and give yourself time to process it. On day four, simply review the three principles of child sexual abuse prevention you have learned. See below.
DAY 3: RESPOND AND REPORT
Did you know that you don’t need evidence to report abuse—only reasonable suspicion? But even for adults, reporting abuse is hard. We don’t want to falsely accuse someone or get someone in trouble. On the other hand, reporting might be the one thing that saves a child – or children – from abuse. As Y associates, it is our responsibility to RESPOND to any and all disclosure, discovery or suspicion of child sexual abuse.
Reporting Abuse
Y associates are considered mandated reporters. This simply means that as associates for a human services organization, we are expected to report suspicion of child abuse.
If child abuse is disclosed to, or suspected by a Y associate, as mandated reporters we are required to take immediate action as follows:
- The Y in Central Maryland will make a report in accordance with Maryland state and local child abuse reporting requirements and will cooperate to the extent of the law with any legal authority involved. To report to the Maryland Social Services Administration call 410-767-7112. For Child Protective Services call 800-332-6347.
- At the first report or allegation that child abuse has occurred, associates will notify Child Protective Services, the supervising director and the Senior Executive Director of Quality and Risk. The Senior Executive Director Quality and Risk will then review the incident with other Y in Central Maryland management as deemed appropriate. In the event the abuse involves a supervising director, the associate will report to the Executive Director or VP of that program/department. If the child/participant is in imminent danger, then associates will immediately contact the local police.
- In the event the reported incident involves a program volunteer, associate or Y member, Y leadership will immediately remove them from the program in which the allegation occurred and suspend them from the Y, or in the case of an associate, place them on administrative suspension pending completion of an investigation. Reinstatement of the associate, volunteer or member will occur only after all allegations have been cleared to the satisfaction of the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer and the Chief Operating Officer.
- If the incident involves a member or program participant, Y leadership will decide whether further participation by that member or participant is appropriate.
- Whether the incident or alleged offense takes place on or off Y in Central Maryland premises, it will be considered job related.
- All Y in Central Maryland associates and volunteers must maintain confidentiality in the handling of this type of information and therefore should discuss the incident only with their supervisor, the authorities, the Risk Management department, and the HR department.
If you have questions, please ask. Questions can be directed to:
- Sherrie Rovnan, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer (410) 371-9244
- Mya Davis, Senior Executive Director of Quality and Risk (410) 319-0999
- Jill Black, Senior Executive Director of Quality and Risk (410) 465-4334
- Dana Ashley, Senior Vice President, Operations (614) 657-6655
- Amy Taylor, Vice President Operations, Head Start (410) 802-6883
- Charmayne Turner, Vice President Operations, Youth Development (443) 622-4775
DAY 2: SEE THE SIGNS
When we SEE the signs of abuse, we can intervene on behalf of children. We should act quickly when we see boundaries being crossed or suspect a child is being abused. As a Y associate in service to the community, we play a critical role in making sure any environment in which children are in our care is free from abuse.
SEEing the signs of child abuse also includes listening and believing children if they say or show signs of abuse.
Eight Warning Signs of Child Abuse
- Unkempt or malnourished appearance
- Unexplained bruises, welts, or burns
- Disturbed sleeping or eating patterns
- Abrupt changes in behavior, anxiety, clinging, aggressiveness, or withdrawal
- Sexually transmitted diseases and infections
- Discomfort with physical contact
- Fear of a certain person or place
- Fearfulness or depression
DAY 1: KNOW THE FACTS
KNOWing the facts about child sexual abuse can help us better understand what to look for and how to prevent it. For example, did you know that 1 in 10 children in the U.S will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday?
- 1 IN 20 BOYS in the United States experience child sexual abuse
- 1 IN 4 GIRLS in the United States experience child sexual abuse
- 1 IN 10 STUDENTS in public school have experienced sexual misconduct by an educator
- 80% OF SURVIVORS never reported their abuse
- 91% OF OFFENDERS are known by their victim or their victim's family
Child Abuse Takes on Many Forms:
- EMOTIONAL: Threatening a child or using words that can hurt a child’s feelings and self-esteem, withholding love and support from a child.
- PHYSICAL: Causing injuries to a child on purpose, such as bruises, burns, scars, broken bones, etc.
- SEXUAL: Having sexual contact in any form with a child, including exposing, fondling, intercourse, pornography, or internet solicitation.
- NEGLECT: Not providing children with enough food, clothing, shelter, medical care, hygiene, supervision, etc.